Review: Trainwreck

Trainwreck written by and starring comedian Amy Schumer is probably the first romantic comedy of its kind: a bawdy romantic comedy, so bawdy it got an R rating. Schumer has made something of a name for herself by plumbing the raunchy women’s comedian genre. I’d like to say that in Trainwreck that Amy portrays a slut, but it’s a word that is no longer politically correct. Let’s call her character simply called Amy a very sexually liberated woman, endlessly hopping from bed to bed in search of new thrills and greater sex. It comes naturally because early in the movie we discover that her parents divorced when she was a child. In an early flashback her father played by Colin Quinn tells young Amy and her sister Kim that monogamy just isn’t realistic.

Her private life mirrors her profession, as she is a writer for S’nuff. It’s an ultra bawdy men’s magazine overseen by an abrasive in-your-face editor Dianna (Tilda Swinton). No skanky story is too low for the readers of S’nuff, and it’s Dianna’s job to make sure the magazine goes for the bottom of the barrel. Because Amy vilifies sports, naturally her boss puts her on a story about the sports medicine doctor for the New York Knicks, Aaron Conners (Bill Hader). Unsurprisingly, opposites sort of attract here. Aaron is a nerdish, affable but talented physician and surgeon who tends to the team’s many injuries while working sporadically for Doctors Without Borders. Aaron is also very tight with LeBron James, who plays himself. Many players on the Knicks have supporting roles in this movie, as do its cheerleaders. Surprisingly, LeBron James runs pretty well with his part, suggesting that when his basketball career inevitably ends he might have a secondary career as a character actor.

Aaron is not only nerdish; he is more than a bit shy and hasn’t had a girlfriend in six years. Shortly after meeting Amy however Amy is doing what she does best and before Aaron can object Amy has solved his problem of six years with no sex, almost as an afterthought. Having sex is something almost reflexive with her. Channeling her father however she doesn’t want to commit with anyone, even Aaron, even though she finds him cute. Their mutual attraction is one of the aspects of this romantic comedy that doesn’t quite gel on screen, but somehow they become something of a couple. This is disturbing to Amy who channels her father and thus doesn’t want to be partnered, let alone married.

Dear old dad is still around, but has multiple sclerosis. Amy and her very monogamous and happily married sister Kim have to manage his decline by moving him through various nursing homes. For someone with a degenerative disease, their father seems very much in the present. He is opinionated and obnoxious most of the time, characteristics Amy seems to reflexively emulate. Her mother has been long dead. As Amy and Aaron get closer, they become more integrated with her family. Amy begins to consider that maybe this monogamy thing isn’t so bad after all, but eventually the tension becomes too much and they grow apart while still thinking a lot about each other. Dear old cranky dad has to die before the mists clear in front of Amy’s eyes. You can probably figure out the rest of this movie, which follows formula but with a few twists.

So it’s a different romantic comedy for sure, perhaps in a class of its own yet still completely predictable. It’s kind of fun to watch Amy’s personal life implode and explode so much and to see her struggle with her dad, her feelings about monogamy and her relationship with her sister. But this is no Sleepless in Seattle and she is no Meg Ryan. She’s reasonably cute but she plays the sort of woman I would have avoided and which makes her relationship with Aaron seem kind of implausible. Amy’s quite obviously no thirty-something virgin and she’s quite messed up too. She is too much of a train wreck for most men, and should be for Aaron, but isn’t somehow.

Overall as a romantic comedy this one rates a bit below the median. It’s easy enough to enjoy and predictable, but there is no meat particularly worth eating here except for Amy Schumer fans. About all you can say is that it is a new take on an old formula, but it hardly takes flight, let alone soars.